Home and Community-Based Services Waiver (OPWDD)

The OPWDD Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) Waiver operated by the Office for People With Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD) is a program of supports and services that enables adults and children with developmental disabilities to live in the community as an alternative to Intermediate Care Facilities (ICFs).

What are the services and who provides them?

OPWDD administers this HCBS Waiver. It is OPWDD's primary funding mechanism for supporting individuals in the community by providing a variety of services and supports that are uniquely tailored and individualized to meet each person's needs. These services can include habilitation services, respite care, service coordination, and adaptive technologies. Services are provided either by OPWDD's Developmental Disabilities Services Office (DDSO) staff or through voluntary not-for-profit agencies who have been authorized to provide HCBS waiver services by OPWDD or the NYS Department of Health (DOH).

Who is eligible?

To be eligible for opportunities in the OPWDD HCBS Waiver, an individual must:

have a diagnosis of a developmental disability,

be eligible for the ICF/MR level of care,

be Medicaid eligible, and

have chosen HCBS waiver services over institutional care.

A person who is eligible and lives in NYS can request to be enrolled in the HCBS waiver by contacting the DDSO or a provider agency that serves the county in which the person lives.